Tools employed for grinding often include abrasive grains bonded in or to a polymer. Typically, such tools are in the form of bonded composites, or flexible substrates coated with abrasive compositions. In both cases, however, wear of grinding tools is determined by several factors including, for example, the material being ground, the force applied to the grinding surface, the rate of wear of the abrasive grains, and the chemical and physical properties of the polymer employed to bond the abrasive grains.
Grinding efficiency in a bonded composite is affected by the rate at which the bonding polymer wears, decomposes, liquefies or is otherwise lost. For example, if the polymer bond is lost too rapidly, abrasive grains will be thrown off before they are worn sufficiently to have exhausted their capacity to effectively grind. Conversely, if the polymer bond does not wear away rapidly enough, abrasive grains will be retained on the surface of the grinding tool beyond their useful life, thereby preventing new underlying grains from emerging. Both effects generally can limit grinding efficiency.
Several approaches have been employed to improve the useful life of grinding tools and their efficiency. One such approach has been to employ a "grinding aid." Many types of grinding aids exist, and they are believed to operate by different mechanisms. According to one proposed mechanism, grinding temperature is decreased by reducing friction through use of a grinding aid that melts or liquefies during the grinding operation, thereby lubricating the grinding surface. In a second mechanism, the grinding aid reacts with the metal workpiece by corroding freshly cut metal chips, or swarf, thereby preventing reaction of the chips with the abrasive or rewelding of the chips to the base metal. In a third proposed mechanism, the grinding aid reacts with the ground metal surface to form a lubricant. A fourth proposed mechanism includes reaction of the grinding aid with the surface of the workpiece to promote stress-corrosion cracking, thereby facilitating stock removal.